


Children and Art

by MissVioletHunter



Series: Theology for Beginners [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 11:59:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6237721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissVioletHunter/pseuds/MissVioletHunter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a continuation of the "Ladies in Their Sensitivities" one-shot, within the Theology for Beginners saga.<br/>Loki and his Midgardian wife Leah keep getting more and more involved in the politics of Asgard, even from inside Loki's prison cell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Children and Art

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: LONG. This is not a drill. There are too many words in here, more than 8000. I could have divided it in two one-shots, of course, but they would have been unbalanced: there’s a lot of world building in the first part, necessary to the story but not really full of action, so I decided to leave it as one.  
> Some days I miss the times when I could write 2000 words and call it a one-shot… the times before Loki started talking so much. But we love him anyway, right? Thank you for reading!

_“There are only two worthwhile things to leave behind when you depart this world of ours - children and art.”  
   — Stephen Sondheim, Sunday in the Park with George._

* * *

_“I was Loki’s nursemaid when he was an infant… I know he was born in Jotunheim; and I am also aware that your child will be part Frost Giant.”_

Leah clasped her hands behind her back, a habit she had picked up at Columbia Law School when one of her professors noticed her excessive use of hand gestures. Now she was doing it to hide the fact that she had started shaking, almost uncontrollably. Out of pure instinct she glanced at the door and the windows for a moment, before the fight instinct took over.

“I have no idea what you’re planning, Adis; but if you know Loki, even just in passing, you know he will do everything in his power to protect me and my kid from any harm.”

The old midwife did something very strange: she went back to her seat and started leafing through the pages of a big leather bound book full of runes, as if Leah had delivered a casual comment instead of a veiled challenge.

“I am not your enemy, my lady.”

“That remains to be seen.”

Adis’s black eyes held Leah’s gaze for a long moment, and she motioned for Leah to sit beside her.

“My lady, you need somebody to trust in this matter... apart from the Queen, of course; and I think it should be me. We can have this conversation in front of Queen Frigga, but I know from experience that hearing about Loki’s ancestry is greatly distressing to her.”

Leah frowned, almost persuaded by the old woman’s reasoning, but still reluctant to give in.

“If one day you found yourself in Midgard, with a lot of alien beings for your only company, would you start trusting everybody all of a sudden?”

A myriad of small wrinkles appeared around the midwife’s eyes when she smiled.

“Of course not. I know you are an intelligent woman, or Loki would never have chosen you as his life companion.... and, as you say, being suspicious is normal in your situation. But, if you allow me to explain myself, I will try to clear up all your doubts. And maybe you’ll learn one or two things about your husband’s childhood, too.” She fetched a pewter jug full of water from a nearby table and poured Leah a glass. “This will be quite a long tale. You need to drink lots of water, it is good for your baby.”

The younger woman accepted the glass with a tense smile. “Fine, I’m all ears. Tell me everything.”

Adis stood up and opened a small cabinet full of jars of different sizes, that contained all kinds of herbs and seeds. She opened three of the jars, pouring a calculated dose of the funny smelling herbs into a plate; finally, she grabbed a small brass mortar and sat down again. Before speaking she took a long breath and gazed outside, like trying to recall a very distant memory.

“About a century before Loki’s birth, relations with the Jotunns were... well, I will not say our realms were friends, but things were more or less civil between us. So civil that Odin decided to send a delegation to Jotunheim, with the task of strengthening links among our peoples, if possible.”

“I’m guessing they weren’t completely successful.”

“Oh, but they were, for a couple of decades at least. A Legate was chosen between the Allfather’s most trusted advisors, and he moved to Jotunheim with his family, his household and a small entourage.”

“And you were a part of his family?”

“Oh, no! Nothing so important. At the time, my husband was second secretary to the Legate, so he stepped forward to go with him. Our two children were already grown up, and there was little risk in spending a few years learning things about a new and fascinating realm... at least, that is how my husband viewed the situation.”

“What about you? Did you share his enthusiasm for learning?”

“Immensely. As soon as we set foot on Jotunheim, I started doing what I have done all my life: helping women bring children into the world. Frost Giants are a very violent culture, and for them dying in battle is the utmost honor imaginable; they are also very resilient, their wounds heal very quickly and they rarely fall ill. For all those reasons, their physicians are scarce and not very trustworthy. But every culture I have ever encountered has midwives of some sort, and I was determined to learn all I could from my Jotunn counterparts.”

Leah planted her elbows on the table and leaned forward, like a little kid who’s hearing the most fantastic story and doesn’t want to miss a bit. “If they were so… so savage and violent, what could you possibly learn from them?”

“The most skilled midwife they had was a woman called Kess. You would never think she was a healer... she was tall, almost two heads taller than me, with wide shoulders and thick arms, and strong as an ox. But, despite her appearance, she was very good in her craft. Kess told me she descended from a long line of women who shared the same profession, and that she had been helping her mother attend births since she was a little girl.” With fluid and efficient movements, Adis put pinch after pinch of herbs into the mortar and started grinding them. “She approached each birth like it was a battle, and her goal was to fight against anything that could prevent the mother and the child from coming out of it alive. And, most of the time, she succeeded.”

The pestle moved quickly in Adis’s brown hand, reducing the dried herbs to a fine powder and making a hypnotic, repetitive sound when it hit the brass surface once and again.

“And now is when my story gets even more curious”, Adis continued. “Twice during my stay in Jotunheim, Kess was called to King Laufey’s castle to attend a birth. One, by his wife the Queen, resulted in a healthy boy that must have weighed at least ten pounds when he was born. The other time... it was one of the king’s concubines.”

“Oh?” Leah lifted her eyes from the mortar, suddenly interested in the scandalous bits of the older woman’s tale.

“You heard right. The king had several... let us call them secondary wives, although I am not sure of their real status, because Kess didn’t use the Jotunn word for ‘wife’ when she talked about them. Their rooms were separate from the Queen’s lodgings, and they had no official rank or duties. The first thing that is relevant to my story is that, when any of those women had a child, it was raised among the common people, not the king’s family. When they were older, they were sent away, to the army or to learn a trade.”

Adis interrupted her narration to put the freshly grinded herbs into a small sachet and tie it with a bright green ribbon.

“These will help you sleep better and alleviate your sneezing, if it comes back. Infuse them for a few minutes, as if you were making tea. They taste a bit bitter, but they will do you good.”

Leah held the sachet delicately between her fingers and looked at Adis, silently urging her to continue.

“The second reason why I am telling you all this, my lady, is because during my visit to the concubines’ rooms, I saw at least two of them that were not Jotunn.”

“I’m not sure I follow you.”

“As I’ve told you, I accompanied Kess to attend the childbirth of one of those women. I was never told her name, but I know she was from Vanaheim; after a long and painful night she gave birth to a little girl with pale blue skin and red eyes. The baby was almost identical to a Jotunn in appearance, only much smaller. And the only other time I have seen a Jotunn child so small was when Odin brought Loki to Asgard.”

Seeing that Leah had fallen silent, Adis continued.

“That takes us to the second relevant fact of my tale: it has been proved that a Frost Giant can procreate with a Vanir... or an Aesir, since there is no physical difference between the people of Asgard and those from Vanaheim. If it happened once, it could have happened again years later. Which leads me to believe that your husband, my lady, is only half Frost Giant.”

Leah walked towards the window, still in silence, and took several deep breaths while pretending to look at the neat rows of medicinal plants in the garden outside. When she turned her attention back to the older woman, she was pale as a sheet.

“My lady, if you are not feeling well, we can continue another day—”

“No, I’m fine. I just... I just need a moment to make sense of all this.” She looked at the garden again and let out a deep sigh. “You have no idea what my kid will look like, do you?”

Adis shook her head. “Not completely, but I am willing to speculate that he or she may look like an Aesir... or a mortal. What worries me a little more is that I cannot know when it will be born.”

“Why not? How long does a Frost Giant pregnancy last?”

“A little less than five months.”

Leah lifted an eyebrow and returned to her place at the table. “So short, and they have babies that weigh ten pounds?”

The midwife picked a book from the cupboard, a small volume handwritten in purple ink.

“From what I could observe when I lived in Jotunheim, it probably has to do with the climate there. Their winters are bitter cold, and their summers are more akin to winter in Asgard. Most Jotunn women become pregnant during the Fall and deliver the baby in Spring, so during the first months of life the little ones can benefit from the milder temperatures. Also, it seems to be more efficient if the body of the woman completes its task in just a few short months; let us not forget that even their women are warriors, and they heal at a quicker pace than any other race I have encountered.” She leafed through the book and showed Leah what looked like a series of calendars. “These are all the notes I took when I was there, and all the pregnancies I documented. Of course, the explanations I have just given you are mere theories: Jotunheim is not a land of science, and none of their healers seemed to bother with questions like these. To them, if the baby was born strong and healthy, especially if it was a boy, it seemed enough.”

“What happened to the baby girl?” asked Leah. “The one born of the Vanir concubine?”

“Mother and child were relocated to a house in the upper city. I visited them a couple of times, and they seemed to be doing well. But there was a guard with them at all times, so I had no chance of asking the woman how she had wound up in Jotunheim.”

“Adis, is there any way of knowing if my baby will be a boy or a girl?”

“Would it make any difference to you?” asked the midwife.

Leah meditated her answer for a few seconds. “No, I don’t think so. I’m quite sure I want a girl, but at the same time I suspect Loki would prefer a boy. Don’t all men want boys?”

Adis’s face brightened up with a wide smile. “What men say they want and what they want in reality are two different things, my lady. And in any case I am sure he will love his child very much.”

“Loki is not the sentimental type. He took the news well, but I think he’s too worried about me and not enough about the baby.”

“All men are sentimental. They just try to hide it behind a scowl.”

“In Loki’s case, sometimes it’s more like a pout.”

The midwife’s argentine laughter echoed through the small room.

“I have known Loki for many years, Princess, but I think you can see through him like he is made of glass.”

* * *

Meanwhile, in his cell, Loki was trying not to think about the fact that his wife had been called away from him. To pass the time, he was organizing his books and making a mental list of the things he would teach his beloved on the following days.

He had never fancied himself much of a teacher; however, Leah’s complete ignorance about Asgardian history, geography, politics, and… pretty much everything else, had awakened something in him. His natural pride couldn’t endure the idea of Leah being seen as uncultured or uncivilized. Therefore, he had assured her that by the time their child had been born she would have a sufficient knowledge of all the basic matters that an Asgardian citizen needed to know. She proved to be a fast learner, thanks to the rigorous study habits acquired at law school, and she had progressed a lot in just a few weeks.

Scattered on a nearby table was a set of cards, scribbled in Loki’s elegant handwriting and depicting several rows of Asgardian runes and their equivalent in Midgardian letters. Just the day before Leah had been practicing with them, copying the flowy traces in a spare piece of parchment. The result had been quite good for a beginner… but Loki wanted excellence, and he knew Leah would want that too. Sometimes it still surprised him how the person who understood him better in the whole Nine Realms was a woman from a distant, backwards world.

His musings were interrupted by a discreet cough, accompanied by the amber glow that announced one of Frigga’s incorporeal visits. Not wanting to seem anxious, Loki finished putting the rune cards in order and stacked them neatly on the table before turning around.

“I hope you are not here to tell me that my wife is not returning.”

The Queen (or, rather, the illusion of the Queen that had been projected into Loki’s cell) shook her head and smiled.

“Your wife is a formidable creature, Loki, and I doubt there is a force in Asgard able to keep her away from you. I could not ask for a better mother for my grandchild.”

Loki raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “Don’t tell me that when I was a boy you imagined me married to a Midgardian with no royal lineage. I still remember you pushing me in the direction of that languid and vain princess from Alfheim, all those years ago.”

“Pushing you…? I admit I had hopes for you and her, back in the day, but I would certainly not use that word.”

“You made me sit with her during a whole week of state dinners.”

“Anyway, inviting Princess Gudrun to Asgard was a mistake on my part. Her temperament proved to be most unsuitable.”

“She giggled incessantly, talked with her mouth full, and flirted with Fandral when she thought I was not looking.” Loki waved his hand in a dismissive gesture when he mentioned his old friend. He could have forgiven the frivolous girl’s flirting, but the bad manners at the table had been the last straw. “But let us not dwell in the past. I just wanted to make very clear to you that Leah is not a mistake of any kind.”

“Of course not, my son. You and her are perfect for each other.”

Loki picked a book from the shelf, a treaty on Aesir anatomy and physiology… and happened to open it right on the page where the author had written about the unnaturally long span of the Asgardian life.

“Perfect? Even if she is mortal?” he asked, closing the book with a loud snapping sound.

“Especially with her being mortal.” Frigga’s spectral form took a step towards the imprisoned Prince, getting as close to Loki as she could without passing through him. “My son, love is not something people find by chance; finding it is just the beginning. It resembles a well tended flower, a work of art: It grows in a garden full of weeds and needs to be looked after, day after day, with exquisite care… until you end up with something truly beautiful that lasts for many years. You have already started, but you and Leah have a long way to go. Although her lifespan may be brief, like that of a rose—”

“— if Leah ever hears you comparing her to a flower she will throw a fit.”

“A thorny rose, then. But I believe the fragility of her short life will make you appreciate her more. Knowing that you do not have the eternity will make your relationship more precious.”

“Eternity is much longer within these walls”, answered Loki between gritted teeth. “Especially knowing that Leah’s life will end here. She will never abandon me, I refuse to be parted from her… and so her fleeting and precious years will pass in a prison. So much for your works of art, your colorful metaphors and your perfect idea of love, Mother. The rose you planted will wither and die in a glass cage.”

“I find appalling that you have so little faith in me, my son.” The Queen’s voice sounded unnaturally stern, and Loki’s cheeks reddened with a tinge of shame. “When I learned about your beloved’s existence I asked you to trust me with your secret, and when she arrived in Asgard I used all my influence to ensure that she would be reunited with you. There is nothing I want more in this world than the happiness of both my children; that does not mean I am going to break you out of prison, but I am asking you to be patient! As for you and Leah spending the rest of her life here… we will see about that in due time”, she finished in a mysterious tone.

“Mother, may I ask what are you plotting this time?”

“If I told you, you would get your hopes up. And what we need right now is action, not empty hope.” Frigga turned towards her son once again and raised a hand, keeping it an inch away from Loki’s face in an intangible showing of affection. “Would you believe me if I told you that, on the day of your child’s birth, you will be able to see your mother in the flesh?”

“Odin will never allow that.”

“As I said before… we will see.”

* * *

“Adis, what did you just call me a second ago?”

The old midwife lifted her gaze from her notebook, where she had been taking some notes about Leah’s weight, height and general health.

“Princess. I am not well versed in formal etiquette, but I believe that is the title you bear now, as consort to the Prince. Am I wrong?”

“It’s just… no one had called me that yet, and I don’t like it. It’s always been _lady Leah_ or _my lady_ , and I think it sounds more sensible. After all, the closest I’ve been to royalty before coming to Asgard was when I lived in London and went to a party at the US Embassy at the same time as Prince Harry. Very entertaining man, by the way: I saw him get royally drunk and try to conduct the string quartet with a drinking straw before leaving the party with one of the waitresses.” She looked at Adis, who was listening to her rambling with considerable patience. “Sorry, I digress. I’m just not a big fan of the title.”

“You have no reason to feel inadequate, my lady. If you knew about the origins of some of the most refined citizens of Asgard, and their occupation before being in court, you would be scandalized.”

Leah let out a small laugh. “No, it’s not that. I mean, of course I feel like I don’t belong here sometimes. But my problem with the title started years ago… in fact, it started when I was a little brat.”

Adis nodded, urging the younger woman to continue, and started arranging several pieces of healing equipment on the low table beside the narrow hospital bed.

“You won’t have heard of it, of course, but on Midgard we have this… ah… this storyteller called Disney.” She bit her lip, fearing that explaining the concept of movies and cartoons would make the conversation last for days. “He created lots of children stories, and in most of them the protagonist was a princess. Never a normal girl; never someone like me, with no father, an alcoholic mother and a shitty life. Even the girls who started the story poor and miserable ended up being princesses anyway… and of course none of them had a mother. I have no idea why, but I hated those stories: they felt fake, like something made up to make me feel even worse about myself. They felt like lies.”

“Every culture has children’s tales, my lady. I assure you the Asgardian ones are very similar to what you have described.”

“Then, when I was in fourth grade we had to read a certain book for class. There was a passage where the girl protagonist of the story said _‘All women are princesses_ , _it is our right’._ And I distinctly remember closing the book and throwing it across the room, because not even nine year old me was gullible enough to believe that.” Leah covered her eyes with her hands for a moment. “You must think I’m quite crazy.”

“Not at all. I only think that no child should ever be as full of sadness as you were.” Adis approached the younger woman with a preoccupied expression in her face. “Not even Loki, who was a very peculiar boy, had that kind of melancholy in him; at least not until he grew up.”

Leah shook her head, trying to dismiss the midwife’s worries. “Adis, will you tell me more about Loki’s childhood? I’ve always wanted to know certain things, but family is not exactly his favorite topic and I don’t want to upset him.”

“Of course, my lady, anything you need to know.” The old midwife pointed to the narrow bed. “Take a seat, please. Where do you want me to start?”

“At the beginning, if it’s not much of a nuisance.”

Once more the midwife gazed at the infinite; once more she probed her own memory searching for the most accurate tale of something that had happened so many years before.

"One night, on the last days of the war with the Frost Giants, I was called in a lot of haste to Queen Frigga’s chamber. I remember it was a very cold night; there was snow all over the roads and the streets. My daughter Astrid had just sent me a cloak trimmed with bear fur, to wear when I had to go out in the middle of the night to assist a birth. She is a midwife too, my Astrid… she got married to a Vanir man, and she has lived in Vanaheim for many years.” A tender smile crossed the old woman’s face, and she continued. “At first I assumed they had called me to help one of the palace’s ladies in waiting, because to my knowledge the Queen herself was not expecting. Imagine my surprise when I found that there was no birth in course, and that I had to examine the health of a little child, one that the Allfather had rescued from Jotunheim.”

“They must have had a lot of faith in you, to trust you with their secret.”

“The Allfather and the Queen needed my help, and I was happy to give it, especially when there was an innocent baby involved. And what a beautiful baby! He was small, even for an Aesir... but I knew what he was as soon as I saw him. Especially when he started to cry and he looked like a little Jotunn for a few moments.”

“His skin turned blue?”

“And cold. So cold that it almost gave Queen Frigga frostbite, even through the blanket. We managed to calm him down, and he returned to normal. After a few months he seemed to lose the ability to change his form altogether.”

“He didn’t really lose it, you know”, answered Leah in a low whisper. “He can control it now, but he still can change. Only now the effect is much stronger than a simple cold burn, even from afar. I’ve only seen him like that once… and it scared the hell out of me.”

“Fortunately for him, I knew what to expect, having worked with Jotunn children before. The only problem was that Loki appeared to be at least a few weeks old, so there was no way he could pass for a newborn. Something had to be done to hide his real lineage: People were told that Queen Frigga had been with child and the baby had come before due time. Of course, having been a difficult labor, the Queen needed to rest in isolation for a while. By the time Loki was formally presented to the Council and the people of Asgard, almost two months later, the difference in age was not noticeable.”

“And the people ate it up? Just like that?”

“I helped spread the lie, of course. By then I was already an experienced midwife, people trusted me... and in this realm one does not simply contradict what the Allfather says.”

“Didn’t anyone notice the lack of a pregnant belly in the previous months? That’s usually one of the requirements for having a baby.”

“Luckily for the Queen, it all happened towards the end of a very cold winter. In the months before Loki’s arrival all her public appearances had been under heavy gowns and cloaks, so naturally everybody thought she had just concealed it with loose clothes.”

“Naturally! How convenient", Leah said, rolling her eyes. "I’m starting to think Asgardian people will believe anything as long as they’re presented with a good tale.”

“You are learning our ways very quickly, my lady", answered Adis with a smile.

"You know, one day I’d love to take a peek into Frigga’s mind, just once. Although it may not be a good idea... I could get a headache from all that plotting and scheming.”

“No one I know has even been able to see into the Queen’s mind, my lady. Not her sons, not even the Allfather.” There was just a tiny hint of disapproval in the older woman’s face, but it disappeared when she picked up her notebook and went into professional mode again. “Will you allow me to examine you now? Everything is probably well, but I want to make sure the little one is growing up as they should.”

“How will you know that, if he’s going to be one of a kind… half Midgardian, a quarter Frost Giant and… God knows what else?”

“Babies are babies everywhere: here, on Midgard or in Jotunheim, they are all born of a woman and they have the same basic needs. Nature has its ways, you know.”

“Nature has its ways”, muttered Leah as she reclined on the bed and tried to forget how much she hated medical examinations. “I’ll have to remember that.”

* * *

How would people measure time without clocks?

In ancient times (which in Asgardian terms could mean many, many thousand years), the inhabitants of the golden realm told the time exactly like the ancient peoples of Earth: looking at the sun. Being so averse to change in certain matters, it was no wonder that the Asgardian society had kept that system working for so long; according to the wisest among the wise, if the Sun rose high in the sky every day, and its path didn't change much from season to season... what would have been the point of inventing a new way to mark the hours, if the old one was working fine?

Each sun-cycle was divided into eight sections, corresponding with the cardinal and ordinal points. The most important of daymarks, the Midday one, was marked in the city by the ringing of a gong-like bell, located (like practically every other bell in the Universe) on top of a very high tower.

That deep, brassy sound marked the pause in the people's working days, the recess at schools, the change of the Palace guard, the moment when women would return home from the market... It also marked a very important moment for most Asgardians with an appetite: lunchtime.

Eirik Ragnarsson, third class Einherjar assigned to watching the prison wing of the palace, felt the vibration of the gong go right through his very empty stomach. He had been standing on his feet since midnight, and he had also received special instructions not to leave his post until the lady Leah had returned to the cells. To make things even worse, several days of night guards meant that he hadn't been able to see his betrothed for almost a week.

Overworked, sleepy, cranky, lovesick, and on top of it all hungry, the young guard's mind started to wander. He imagined a long line of delicious, steamy dishes, that for some reason had little legs and feet and were parading in front of him, just out of his reach. Every time he tried to open his eyes and extend his hand, the plates and trays moved away from him, without getting out of step. The little feet stomped on the floor surprisingly hard, like the hooves of a horse, with a rhythmic flow that would have reminded him of a ticking clock... if Asgard had clocks. One, two, one, two, the sound came close and closer with every step...

“Good afternoon. May I come in, please?”

The Einherjar's spear collisioned with the marble floor with a strikingly loud 'clang', and his helmet almost fell out of place when he woke up to see the lady Leah standing in front of him. Alone, unsupervised, and pressing her lips together to avoid a burst of laughter.  

A respectful bow and several mumbled explanations later, the sound of Leah's heels started clicking again down the corridor. Eirik, who considered a matter of personal honor to escort the lady right to the entrance of Loki's cell, followed right behind her, still a bit disoriented.

“Did you have a pleasant outing, my lady?” he asked. Eirik was one of those people who always try to say something nice; he also felt compelled to distract the lady's attention from the fact that he had fallen asleep on his feet, in front of her.

“Very nice, thank you... Eirik”, answered Leah, wondering if she had gotten the name right. With the helmets that obstructed half of the face, and the armor who made them all look the same, she always had trouble telling one guard from another. “I had breakfast with Queen Frigga in her garden.”

“The Queen's garden is very fine. Very artistic.”

“Oh, have you seen it?”

“Er... no, my lady.”

Mercifully, their destination wasn't very far away, and the brief conversation ended before the young guard had a chance to start talking about the weather.

Once inside the cell that she had begun to call home, Leah had more pressing matters to attend, because her husband was nowhere to be found.

It spoke volumes about her trust in Loki that she didn’t think for a moment that he could have escaped leaving her behind. Of all the things she knew he was capable of, abandoning her and the little alien was not an option. Thankfully.

She found him sitting on the floor of the washing room, with his eyes fixed in the decorative frieze that adorned the opposite wall. Something in his attitude made him look lost, almost defeated, and Leah hurried to kneel at his side as fast as her long and cumbersome dress allowed her.

“Hey… what happened?”

One heartbeat, two, and the light finally returned to Loki’s eyes.

“You left.”

She accepted his offer of an embrace; and if he held her too tight for a moment or two, Leah didn’t bother complaining. She didn’t feel guilty for leaving Loki alone for a few hours, but she would have done practically anything to remove that desperate look from his eyes.

When Loki’s breathing had returned to a normal rhythm, he stood up and helped his wife off the cold marble floor of the bathroom.

“Let us get out of here. You should be resting comfortably, not sprawled on the floor like a wild animal.” He escorted Leah to the front part of the cell, added a few coal lumps to the fire that burned in the brazier, and served two glasses of a fruity drink (there was never any kind of liquor or wine delivered to their lodgings, for obvious reasons). Once Leah was sitting on the bed with a pillow behind her back, Loki’s curiosity demanded to be satisfied.

“How did you enjoy breakfast with Frigga?”

“It was lovely. I wasn’t expecting her to worry so much about me. Of course, I know it’s not exclusively about _me_ ”, she said, touching her budding belly. “But your mother is a fantastic woman. I also met an old friend of yours… something who apparently is very fond of you.”

“Don’t tell me it was the Volstagg. That oaf would have my head on a pike if he could.”

“I mean Adis. Adis the midwife, Adis the nursemaid.”

Loki’s expression softened, and he let out a long sigh. He reached for Leah’s hand and held it in silence for a long moment.

“That woman has been like a second mother to me. I had no idea you were going to meet her today, but I am glad you did. And if you and her have been talking about me, then we have a lot of things to discuss. Maybe another day.”

“Of course. I’m dying to know more about her, she’s one of those Mother Earth types who know everything and everybody. By the way, Frigga also said something about a state banquet with some people from Alfheim, so one of these nights I’ll have to leave again for a while.”

Loki frowned, and his grip on Leah’s hand tightened.

“Did my mother mention if it was her idea to invite you, or… someone else’s?”

“Don’t worry. I doubt Odin has any dark designs concerning me, especially when he was too happy to keep us both out of sight when I arrived. Maybe Thor has said something to your mother, but I’m almost sure this was entirely her idea. Besides, I promise not to have any kind of fun at that dinner. Deal?”

Loki’s only answer was a hesitant half-smile, and Leah thought it was time to change the subject.

“Speaking of your mother, didn’t she visit you earlier?”

“You know she is forbidden to come here.”

“I also know she has some way of seeing you that you haven’t told me, because Frigga herself told me this very morning”, continued Leah with a triumphant grin. “She also suggested that I shouldn’t grace the marital bed with my presence until you’re completely honest with me… so I think you have some explaining to do, mister.”

Loki let out a frustrated groan, realizing how hard it would be to fight against his mother’s intelligence and his wife’s stubbornness combined. He stood up and pointed to the energy barrier of the cell, where once again his ‘screensaver’ illusion was in place, hiding the couple from the curiosity of the guards outside.

“The same way I do that”, he started, looking intently at the golden grid. “With the same kind of magic, Frigga is able to project herself inside this place. She has been visiting in a regular way since my return to Asgard, and although I am unable to even hold her hand, such visits have been the thin line that separated me from falling into insanity… until I was reunited with you.”

“That’s the same magic thing you did in Stuttgart, right?”

“Exactly.”

“Can you send an image of yourself outside?”

“Alas, no. Only Frigga’s seidr, combined with mine, can get through that barrier and bypass the boundaries imposed on my magic.” He climbed back on the bed and held Leah’s chin. “Have I earned your favors back with this explanation, dear wife?”

“Yes. For the most part, although I still don’t know why you didn’t tell me all this before. What an appalling lack of trust in me!” she finished, laughing.

Loki pressed his forehead against hers.

“It was Frigga’s secret to tell, not mine. Absolutely no one can know of this, or her visits will be put to an end forever. Be very careful, Leah.”

“My lips are sealed”, she assured him, using those same lips to plant a tiny kiss on the Asgardian’s cheek. Loki’s arms surrounded her again, this time tighter.

“Tell me you love me.”

“What a silly idea”, she whispered. “Everybody knows I don't really care about you, I only came to live here because I love the climate. Oh, and the food. The food is fantastic. Those little red fruits that look like—”

“Leah.”

“Sorry.” She kissed him again, this time on the mouth. “You know I’m not used to saying certain things.”

“Every time I want to hear those three words from you it feels like I am extracting a confession.” He sounded sincerely upset, and Leah climbed on his lap, searching for the right thing to say.

“I’ve never understood why some people say those words fifty times a day. It ends up sounding... cheap, like they’re saying ‘good morning’ or some other thing without importance. My roommate at Columbia once said it to a guy she had been dating for a week. One miserable week! Over the phone of the dorm’s common room, where everybody could hear it! I remember asking her why she’d do that… and she told me I was emotionally constipated. She was a Psychology major, so she was always talking like that and of course I didn't trust her judgment.”

“Of course.”

“Look, to me this is like… like jumping into a pool of cold water. I need to take a deep breath, maybe take a step back too...”

“And then close your eyes?”

“No. This kind of thing should be said with eyes wide open, or you risk confessing your love to an incredibly ugly guy. This is not the case, of course, because you’re even prettier than me.”

“And you are too skilled in avoiding conversations that you do not like”, Loki reminded her in a stern voice. “And as stubborn as the day we met.”

Leah smiled, remembering what she had thought was a chance encounter in her Stuttgart office.

“I’ll never forget what you looked like that day, from the black suit to that silly scarf. And I still think it’s unfair that an Asgardian was so hot in Midgardian clothes.”

Loki’s laughter filled the room, and he held Leah’s cheek in an affectionate caress. “I remember a lot of harsh words from a very cold woman... and a beautiful but quite angry face.”

“Well, you were preparing an invasion of my planet, so excuse me for not having been nicer. And why are you complaining? I got into bed with you anyway!”

“Yes, you did”, he replied, holding her hand and kissing it. “To this day, I still wonder why.”

“If anyone asks, I'm claiming temporary madness.”

“Leah, it has been months since that day… we have been in battle, you have been wounded and imprisoned for my sake, and you are still with me.”

She bit her lip, thoughtful. “A very long temporary madness. It must be the Asgardian influence, time passes much more slowly here.”

“In that case, I hope this particular insanity of yours lasts forever.”

Leah shifted in her husband’s lap, resting her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes. Despite their constant bantering, she enjoyed the occasional moment of boring peace and quiet… for a while, until she turned around to face him again.

“How can you put up with me and my emotional malfunctions?”

“Because I do love you, Leah.”

Loki lay one of his long hands on her stomach. Of course he knew it was too soon for the baby to move, but sometimes he felt like adding another protective layer between the tiny being and the dangers of the outer world. Then he let his hand creep up slowly, until he was able to feel Leah’s heartbeat.

And then he waited, until the skittish woman in his arms felt comfortable enough to finally look him in the eye and speak her mind.

“You know I love you too... right? Just don't make me repeat it a dozen times today or this will look like a scene from a soap opera.”

“I have known it since before you were aware of it, woman.”

She bit her lip again, this time to conceal a smile. “Yes, we all know being humble has never been your thing.”

“Humility has nothing to do with it, Leah. You came here risking your life when you had no obligation to me, and that was an act of love. Am I wrong?”

“No, I guess not.” She tangled her fingers in Loki’s hair and held him close to her lips. “You tend to be incredibly arrogant, but rarely wrong.”

“And speaking of acts of love... Why don’t you show me how much you have missed me during these excruciatingly long time?”

“Of course! You deserve a reward after I left you here for such an inordinate amount of time”, she mocked him. “How long was it again? Three hours?”

“Closer to four, if I reckon correctly. That is unusually cruel of you, Leah. You could almost call it inhuman”.

He took off her tunic in one fluid motion, and Leah almost lost her train of thought. Almost.

“Ah, but you’re not exactly human”, she finally managed to say, admiring his pale features. “Not that I’m complaining…”

“Humanity must be contagious. I fear I have caught it from you”, Loki whispered, letting his lips slide down Leah’s neck. “So, as you mortals say… you owe me.” His mouth kept traveling down, past the modest décolletage of her black gown.

There was a row of twenty buttons on the front of Leah’s dress, that a very skilled Asgardian seamstress had worked really hard to sew in a neat line. The first five came undone in seconds, showing the white petticoat below and more than a bit of skin. While Loki was undoing the sixth, he was rudely interrupted by a pair of feminine hands fumbling with his belt; of course, his exquisite education forbid him to leave a lady wanting, so he got rid of the trousers before resuming the siege of his wife’s many layers of clothing.

A few more buttons fell under his attack, and Leah’s moans guided him towards her breasts. Sensibly bigger, fuller, and more inviting than ever… and who could refuse such an invitation? Not him.

“Oh, dear God!”

“Which God?” he asked, lifting his head to smirk at his wife.

“Not you. Keep going!”

“It hurts me when you say those things, my love.” He resumed his attentions of her sensitive breasts, at the same time placing a hand over Leah’s lips. That earned him a playful bite in his thumb; her maneuvers made his attention wander, and he didn’t notice Leah’s hands roaming towards his lower abdomen, seeking (and finding) him, already hard under her touch.

Loki closed his eyes and threw his head back, and Leah took this moment of distraction as an opportunity to push him on his back and climb on top of him.

More and more buttons became undone in haste (some of them almost torn off the fabric), and Leah’s velvet gown finally found its way, flying like an oversized crow, to the foot of the bed. Free at last of the heavy fabric, she started kissing a trail down Loki’s chest, then his stomach, then… she did a calculated stop right below his hips.

There was a feverish look in Leah’s eyes, a flush on her cheeks that deepened when she stopped idling and took him in her mouth. Slowly at first, running her nails up and down his thighs, testing every bit of his patience and letting his grunts and groans guide her motions.

“Stop”, he barked.

“You’re doing nothing but interrupting all my fun today.”

“The _fun_ , as you call it, will be over very soon if you keep doing that so well. Now, come here where I can see you... up close.”

It was an order Leah would have gladly obeyed, but she didn’t have time because a pair of inhumanly strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her back against Loki’s chest. And she had neither the time nor the space to protest, when her husband claimed her mouth in a series of messy and increasingly demanding kisses.

And if the kisses weren’t distracting enough, what Loki’s fingers were doing to her _other_ lips below was nothing short of outrageous. His hand moved between her skin and her undergarments as skillfully as if someone had drawn him a map of the place… and he was making sure she enjoyed every moment of his incursion.

Leah voiced her complete agreement with a series of low moans… moans that morphed into plaintive whimpers when Loki brought her to the edge of completion, only to retreat in the last moment.

“That’s… ah… not fair at all, toying with a poor woman like that”, she snapped, kissing him once and again to try and erase the naughty smile on his lips.

“I just wanted to find out if I had lost my ‘magic touch’, as you have sometimes called it.”

“Your fucking magic touch has already ruined me for every other man.”

“As it should be”, he growled, rewarding her with a bite on her neck.

“Caveman.”

“Minx.”

Still a bit frustrated by the interruption, Leah climbed on top of Loki and lifted her long petticoat up to her thighs. The Asgardian version of lingerie was like wearing a small sea of silky fabric, but at least it was easy to get out of the way.

“In your own pace.” Loki’s cautious warning seemed almost out of place. “Do not hurt yourself trying to keep up with me, Leah. We can stop anytime you—“

“Stop. Mollycoddling. Me”, she snapped back with a coy smile. “If it’s uncomfortable, I’ll know when to stop. But meanwhile, your wife is almost naked in front of you and if you don’t do anything she’ll catch a cold.”

The next of Leah’s witty remarks died on her lips when one of Loki’s hands flew to her waist keeping her in place while he finally entered her with a loud groan.

And then there were no more words. Just a lazy rhythm at first, made of puffs and moans and carefully measured sighs. As the pace increased, the moans morphed into the jumbled sounds of growing pleasure, the wet sound of skin slapping on skin. A few more thrusts, a lot more panting, and finally the sound of Leah’s trademark high-pitched wails, closely followed by a feral growl from the man under her, gave way to a very satisfying silence on both parts.

The sound of a loud sneeze brought them back to reality, and Leah hurried to get under the covers when she felt the cold air on her damp skin.

“Damn you, Loki… You know all my weak points better than anyone.”

“Never well enough, lovely Leah”, he answered with a contented smile. “I might need another lesson about them tonight, if you are up to it.”

“Right, it’s only lunchtime! Now that’s what I call a very productive day, and it’s not over yet. I may need a short nap, but tonight you’ll be getting your second round, you can be sure of it.” She stretched all over her side of the bed and yawned. “Can you use your magic to call Einherjar room service and see when they can bring us lunch?”

“If my perception of time is not wrong, lunch should be here in ten minutes, my adorable _fainéant_.”

“Did you just call me a sloth? In French?” Leah sat up and glared at her husband. “Next time I see Adis, I’m going to bring her here so she can give you a lesson on how much energy a woman spends when she’s pregnant.”

Loki got under the blanket too, and let the covers settle down over him and his seemingly offended wife.

“I know it is hard work, and you are managing exceptionally well. You also know how much I like picking on you.” He cradled her in his arms, once again placing a hand on her stomach. “My beautiful work of art.”

Leah rolled over to look at him, perplexed. “What does art have to do with this? With us?”

“According to Frigga, everything. And I am starting to think she is right”, he continued, tenderly tucking Leah under his arm. “Our child’s life will be a blank page of canvas.”

There was a sound of slow steps in the distance (an Einherjar, most probably), and the clinking of cutlery on a tray (lunch, definitely). Loki leaped out of bed and looked for his discarded clothes.

“Stay where you are. I forbid you to catch a cold.”

“As you wish, Your Highness.” Leah admired her man getting dressed; it was one of her favorite things in the world… right after watching him get undressed. “Did you mean what you said a moment ago? That Junior’s arrival will be an opportunity, and not a burden for you? There are so many things we can get wrong—”

Loki stopped in his tracks and sat on the bed, still holding his wrinkled tunic.

“So many possibilities.”

“I hope you say the same when the little alien cries all night, every night. I know he’s going to be one of _those_ babies. Will you still be happy then?”

“I will be the happiest man in the Nine Realms the day our child is born. Can you believe that, my love?” He caressed Leah’s hair, smoothing the locks that had escaped the hairpins.

“Yes, my beloved husband. Unfortunately for my poor scattered brain, I tend to believe everything you say.”

“Good. In a few months, you will end up having faith and everything.”

She gave him a quick kiss and retreated under the covers. “Heaven forbid, Your Highness. Heaven forbid.”

 


End file.
